catching up.

It was pointed out to me that I haven't written a new post since February.
I'm really very sorry.
I don't know how many people actually read this.
I don't have much time to cook lately, or much money for fun groceries to cook with.
I think I might change things up around here.

In order to keep up with posting and everything, I think I may merge my personal blog (which I haven't updated since OCTOBER) with my domestic blog, and start trying to post something every single day.
And when there are no words, I'll give you pretty things to look at.

For now, an update:

My marriage is the best thing that ever happened to me. Husbear is such a good man with such a strong, beautiful heart. I'm ever so blessed to be his wife. He's my world, that man.

***
Right now, his brother and sister-in-law are visiting us from Michigan. We spent the weekend being tourists and Brooklynites both. Brunches and flea markets, Central Park and Times Square. Today they came to see me at work so they could walk across the Brooklyn bridge, which is in the neighborhood where Miles lives.
I love having them here. Love love love it.

brunch.

mornings, charlie's grandparents-style, a la willy wonka.

central park.

Husbear at Brooklyn Flea.
***
On Thursday, MY brother gets here, and he's bringing his beautiful girlfriend. We're going to take in lots of music and cocktails and brunch and sunshine then, too. I love my family. I'm so lucky.
***
As for the Big Move, I haven't even begun to start packing.
I have our packing "plan" all written up neatly in my planner. But now I don't like to look at my planner because it declares me two weeks behind on my packing.
I also don't like to look around my apartment and see how much I've been slacking on keeping it organized. I'm too excited about our next place to be bothered with making this one look good every day.
I also have big plans for the new place.
I want a big vegetable garden, and my own chickens to lay eggs for me.
I want to be more sustainable. I want to be more green.
Like I said, Big Plans.
***
33 days until Europe.

(yes, that is where we're staying.)

45 days until we say goodbye to Brooklyn/hello to West Virginia.

I made "Country Roads, Take me Home" my ringtone on my cell phone.
***
I'm meeting Miles' next nanny today. I hope I love her. I think I will, but part of me (a HUGE part) is so jealous that she's the one he'll remember, because he's still so little right now. I can't even think about how hard it will be to say goodbye, because I get all teary just thinking about it.
Looks like he's gonna be okay, though. He's never had any problem warming up to new girls.

(Miles with his girlfriend, Isa.)
***
There, that's a start.

love is the thread that binds us, cont'd.

the fabric for my quilt arrived at my cousin's house this week!
wanna see it?


and this is the idea she's going to recreate:


images courtesy of pottery barn

i cannot wait.

i'm sorry for the lack of recipes. i still haven't gotten a new photocard for my camera, and i haven't made a proper meal in ages. i blame my bare cupboards and the fact that it was rent week. UGH.

(p.s. scroll down to check out some fun news about a giveaway over at Secondsister Suaviloquy!)

a giveaway and a threat.

there's a woman named april who has the kind of life i want.

a sugar daddy, two beautiful children, a lovely home, a wardrobe from anthropologie, and a freaking craft/jewelry studio.
oh and long red hair that i covet day and night.

but she also has a blog. and it is GORGEOUS.


and now she is holding a giveaway.
let it be known that the only reason i am posting about this giveaway is to up my chances of winning. hey, at least i'm being honest, right?
and seriously, if any of you win it instead of me, i will get violent.
i have been known to take out mothers for pillows and spoons.
now that you have been warned/threatened, i will reveal the details of the giveaway.

from suaviloquy:

Ebsi is giving away a
free custom blog template
to one of my readers. A template that no one else will have. It will be yours, all yours. Here's the catch. You must leave a comment, just one please, telling the Brother's why they should pimp your blog. If you blog about this giveaway, we'll give ya more consideration than the non-blogger abouters. Fair is fair. A winner will be selected on the morning of February 10th. You'll be SOL if you don't get your comment in by then.

so. go comment, but please make sure your comment is lame and boring.
because i really, really want this.
seriously.

love is the thread that binds us.

i come from a very talented family.

we write, we sing, we craft, we bake.

but my cousin madison is particularly extraordinary.

she works, she goes to school, and she's the mother of one of the most perfect little creations i have ever seen.

and not only does she do all of this, but she also quilts.
oh, does she quilt.

for christmas, she gave me the most meaningful gift i could have ever asked for. she gave me my own quilt to take back with me to big ol' chilly new york city. it's huge and warm and beautiful, all blues and greens and some chocolate brown here and there. it's wild and beautiful and perfectly my taste. i sleep under it every night, i curl up with it every evening. every day, at some point, i am reminded of her, and of home. of michigan. it's such a wonderful feeling.

also for christmas, madison submitted a gift to our white elephant pool that was a gift certificate for two throw pillows. after throwing a few elbows and drawing blood and tears from my mother, i won them.

and they're done!
here they are:

aren't they incredible?
i can't wait to have them on my bed. or sofa. i can't decide.

last night i bought a WHOLEHUGEBUNDLE of fabrics from anna maria horner's good folks collection, and had them shipped to madison's house, because she is making a beautiful queen sized quilt for husbear and me, and i can't stop thinking about how beautiful it will be. (in case you're curious, i purchased "fortune" (sun&sea), "small gathering" (citrus&sea), "buttoned up" (ink&sea), "cathedral" (dusk), "festival" (dusk), and "dance floor" (teal), and she's doing a scalloped pattern as opposed to the classic squared style.)

so here's what i think you should do.
go check out her blog: willowbean creations and take a look at some of the other beautiful things she has made. if you love them, you should go to her etsy shop and pick something out for yourself! she does custom work as well, if you have something specific in mind.
you won't be disappointed.

i miss that cousin of mine. what a girl.

personal victory

well, this is as far as i could get with this blog makeover on my own. i scrapbooked that header because photoshop hates me. but i think it turned out pretty great, and i'm going to call it a win over my lack of any technological skills whatsoever. whch is why i cook instead.

now, for new recipes and photos! stay tuned...

could it be?

change is upon domestikatie. get excited.

the best summer birthday cake ever.

So.
It was my 25th birthday on Monday. :)
We didn't really get to celebrate, as I had to work for ten hours and Husbear was busy studying away for his MCAT, which he took (AND RULED) on Wednesday.
I came home from work and we ordered pizza and ate ice cream, and then I curled up with a blanket and some Golden Girls. Not a bad night, if I'm being totally honest.
Then Tuesday night, Husbear took me out to the lodge in williamsburg for $14 lobster night! I laughed so hard when they brought out my over-2-pounder, and then Husbear's little nugget of a lobster. oh well. it was my birthday, after all.

So, now that the MCAT is over and done, we are having a birthday party!
Tomorrow our new york pals are gathering in Manhattan Beach for a day in the waves, and then walking to Clemente's Crab House in Sheepshead Bay for ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT CRABS!!!! I am over the moon about this.

But, being that I am DomestiKatie, I couldn't just order whatever dessert they may have on the menu. I must make my OWN birthday cake.

So, I perused the web for various ideas that I could collaborate into my ideal summer cake, as I already knew I wanted to make a cake similar to my favorite summer beverage- blackberry juice, lemonade, and bourbon. And here are the results (sans bourbon.)

Katie's Blackberry Lemon Layer Cake.

LEMON CAKE, from Ina Garten (originally a poundcake recipe that bakes up beautifully in two 9" round cake pans!):
1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons?)
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature. or if you dont have buttermilk, pour 2 tbsp vinegar into whole milk and let sit until it's room temp. it'll become buttermilk!
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
*I also added 1/2 a package of lemon instant pudding mix, just to see what would happen. Worked great! But not necessary.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9' round cake pans.
2. Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon zest.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for about 35 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

BLACKBERRY SOAK (idea from the blog amandascookin.blogspot.com) :

12 oz blackberries, fresh or frozen (i used fresh)
1/2 cup sugar

In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix together blackberries and sugar, with just a little splash of water. Cook at a low boil until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain out as much liquid from the blackberries as you can into a small bowl. throw out seeds and skin.

FROSTING (also from amandascookin, who provided me with the ability to execute my idea of perfection!)
2 8-oz pkgs cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup blackberry juice (from thawed blackberries)

blend the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Turn speed down to low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Turn speed back up to medium high and bet until creamy. Slowly dribble in, while mixing, the blackberry juice. Scrape down mixer bowl and be sure everything is blended. Refrigerate until you are ready to frost the cake.

ASSEMBLY:

Cut the dome off of one of the cakes. (I nibbled on this through out the rest of the assembling process!)


Place layer upside down (flat side up) on cake plate. Spoon the blackberry soak onto the cake layer, smoothing with the spoon as you go. Allow to soak into the cake. Put enough on so that the layer is saturated.


Spread some of the frosting on top of the soaked layer. You may want to refrigerate this layer for an hour to let the frosting set up to avoid slippage.


Place a piece of wax paper (or if you have a second cooling rack, this works great) on top of the remaining cake layer so that it is now sandwiched between the bottom rack and the wax paper. Invert the cake and place it gently on the counter. Soak the flat side of the cake with blackberry soak. When done, carefully turn the layer over and place it on top of the cooled, frosted layer. Frost the sides and the top of the cake.

AND TA-DA!
you have my perfect summer birthday cake.


Then I decorated it.
I think it turned out pretty cute, considering I have never decorated anything edible before.

What do you think?




Now I'm going to snuggle with Husbear and catch up on last season's episodes of Mad Men!


ALSO- IS ANYONE AS EXCITED AS I AM TO SEE JULIE AND JULIA??